Crucially, he remarked that someone should commit the same act against PM Lee Hsien Loong.
The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to inciting violence online and was sentenced to four months’ jail on Wednesday (20 March).
Speaking in court, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Delicia Tan said the accused — 46-year-old Kong Chee Kian — failed to secure permanent employment back in 2022 due to health issues.
Kong then decided to blame the government for his predicament, reports The Straits Times (ST).
In particular, he was not fond of the ruling government of which PM Lee was the “head”.
On 8 July 2022, he came across the Facebook post of a Channel NewsAsia (CNA) article, which reported that a man had been arrested following Mr Abe’s shooting.
Kong then commented by saying:
Pls someone do the same to our PM.
He also left a comment saying “your good friend LHL will join you” on a Yahoo Singapore Facebook post regarding Mr Abe’s demise. DPP Tan confirmed that Kong was indeed referencing PM Lee.
One month before, he also replied to an Instagram post showing a Tamagotchi — a handheld digital pet toy. He claimed that the toy was “the only weapon against Singapore PM”.
According to CNA, DPP Tan sought a jail term of between 4.5 and six months for Kong.
She stressed that “a zero-tolerance approach” should be meted out when dealing with individuals who incite violence against government leaders, regardless of their reasons.
Meanwhile, Kong’s lawyer — Mr Rajoo Ravindran — said his client is a first-time offender and that he was remorseful.
District Judge Kamala Ponnampalam emphasised the severity of Kong’s comments.
She spoke about the need to deal more firmly with those who weaponise “social media platforms to incite violence”.
For inciting violence, Kong could have been jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.
Also read: Man Allegedly Threatens Violence Against PM Lee In Facebook Comment, Gets Arrested
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